Ume Kazue
Ume Kazue''(一枝梅, Kazue Ume)'' is a civilian of Konohagakure and the deceased mother of Akira Kazue. She is a background character in LadyArcher's fanfiction, 'Circles Are Square,' which is an AU. Background Ume Uzuki was born into a large family of civilians. Her father was the owner of a successful restaurant on the main street and her mother ran a childcare service. She had a fairly ordinary childhood, with no particular hardships or dangerous encounters, and had zero interest in becoming a kunoichi, considering the ninja arts to be barbaric and needlessly bloody. Instead, Ume's interests lay in teaching. Having grown up surrounded by the children at her mother's childcare, Ume was well-versed in the technique of catching and keeping the attention of children, which earned her much playful envy among her peers at the primary school where she worked. At the age of 24 she married her boyfriend of four years, Junon Kazue, and a month later discovered that she was pregnant with their child. Tragically, Junon was killed not three months later in an explosion when an infiltrator from Iwa chose to commit suicide rather than be captured and forced to betray his village. Following Junon's death, Ume turned bitter and commonly lashed out at her family and friends. This all accumulated until her daughter, Akira Kazue, was born on the 12 February. Due to stress, Akira was premature, and her birth a difficult one. Upon holding her daughter in her arms for the first time, Ume gave in to her grief and allowed herself to fade, trusting that her mother and father would look after Akira. Unfortunately, eight months later when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, the Uzuki family home was crushed, along with Ume's mother, father and uncle. Her cousin survived, but received a blow to the head which took not only her sight, but also many of her memories. Her daughter, Akira, also survived, as did her cousin's daughter, Yuugaohttp://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Y%C5%ABgao_UzukiYuugao, however Akira was not old enough to remember her, and Yuugao, who was just nine at the time and grieving for her father, believed Akira dead along with the rest of her family. With no family left to remember her, baby Akira was taken to Konoha's orphanage along with many other children left orphaned from the attack. The nurses eventually managed to contact her aunt, but the hospital deemed her unfit to care for a baby, and so Akira grew up never knowing that she still had two living relatives. Yuugao was also removed from her mother's care and went to live with her friend Kurenai Yui's family until she was old enough to support herself. She visited her mother in hospital at least three times a week and once her relation to Akira (at the time a chunin ANBU initiate) was revealed, she also reintroduced them. Ume Kazue's epitaph was chosen by a man who knew her only through his daughter, who had been one of her students. It read: "Here lies Ume Kazue, beloved daughter, wife, mother and teacher. Those Who's Memories Fade Seek To Carve Them In Their Hearts." Personality For the most part, Ume was a gentle soul. She enjoyed working with children and animals, and had a talent for getting even the rattiest children to sit down and pay attention. However, she was wary and somewhat disdainful of shinobi, considering their profession an unnecessary evil and the work of warmongers. This grudge only intensified when her husband was killed, and turned her bitter and paranoid for the last few months of her life. Appearance As an adult, Ume wore her long purple hair loose around her shoulders, opting not to tie it up. She usually dressed professionally in black dress pants, a white long sleeve dress shirt and sometimes wore vests or jackets in a variety of colors. She had brown eyes like her mother and wore pearl earrings. Trivia Some of Ume's distaste for bloodshed carries on to her daughter, despite Akira never having known her mother. Ironically enough, Akira still chooses to become a shinobi in order to achieve her dream of becoming a taijutsu master. The meaning Ume's name is a pun on her hair color, and a frequent source of conflict between Ume and her father, who thought it was funny when he named her as a baby. "Ume" means "plum" in Japanese. Reference A shout-out to Anonymus D.'s Anime Character Maker 2.2 for the tools to make the image at the top of the page. http://www.muchgames.com/games/anime-character-maker-3 Category:Konohagakure Category:Female Category:FINAL Category:Civilian